Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.
The present disclosure will be used with reference to an anterior cruciate ligament (“ACL”) reconstruction, but it will be understood that the technology and methods of the present invention may have other applications for reconstruction of other parts of body
The ACL reconstruction can be performed in numerous ways. All common methods involve drilling holes or tunnels in the femur and tibia. These can be drilled using a variety of techniques. Grafts such as autografts, allografts or artificial biomaterials may be used to extend between the femoral tunnel and the tibial tunnel. The graft is then fixed to the appropriate bone structure, again numerous techniques being suitable. The replacement graft is fixed to the femur and tibia, most commonly by a screw into the adjacent bone, it being understood that staples, pins and similar devices may also be used.
A known device for retaining a graft proximal to the aperture to a femoral tunnel is an EndoButton™, as described in: U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,802 (issued 18 Mar. 2003). Similar devices are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,588 (issued 8 Jul. 1997) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,301 (issued 26 Apr. 1994).
The EndoButton™ includes an integrally formed continuous ring of polyester tape for fixation of soft tissue. The EndoButton can be drawn through the femoral tunnel through manipulation of a pair of suture loops each taken about and through one of respective pair of through apertures located at the ends of the device. When the device exits the through the femoral tunnel the pair of suture loops are manipulated to lay the device flat across the aperture to the femoral tunnel. Use of the EndoButton requires both pairs of suture loops to be manipulated and appropriately tensioned.